Psychopath
by EvilTulip
Summary: Both a psychopath and a psychoanalyst challenge the lab, and there's one thing that really needs to be done. But what if Ryan falls in love? Post season four and depending on how you interpret certain things also post Man Down. LAST CHAPTER UP!
1. Poor Jennifer

**A/N: **I don't know how I got this idea, but the time it came up I immediately liked it myself. Now it's up to you to decide for yourself whether you like it or not.

**Summary: **When Horatio finds out IAB sent a psycho-analyst to investigate his team, there's only one thing he can think of doing…

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anyone except Allison Mulder plus all of the other characters you don't recognize.

**Mirror**

_**Chapter 1: Poor Jennifer.**_

Clubbing in Miami is like gambling in Vegas. Everybody comes to this particular city to perform such activity.

As did the girl who danced near the bar. The bartender looked at her. It was almost as if she was screaming for attention from him. But somewhere, deep inside, this bartender knew she wasn't screaming for his attention. She was screaming for the attention of all the other people in the club.

Half an hour later, she was also screaming. For the attention of people who weren't passing by this time of night, for the attention of people who weren't watching.

Even when sunlight replaced the darkness of night, nobody seemed to pay attention to this girl. Truth is, no one has the attention to both pay attention to themselves and others. Human nature, human vanity, all part of what people have become in the centuries, millennia of evolution.

Only few people noticed the girl lying on the grass in the wee hours of the morning. But not one of them had the guts to call 9-1-1.

Finally, somebody went looking for the young girl. So there was someone who cared for her.

"Jenny!" a seemingly drunk girl stumbled over her four-inch heels and tried her best to stay upright. "Jennifer!" From the corner of her eye, she saw a lifeless body, lying in the grass near the water. She ran over to it, now looking totally sober. "Oh Jenny!" she cried, before calling 9-1-1.

Horatio stared at his still empty lab. Shift hadn't started yet, although night shift had already left, and the quietness in the lab was one of the reasons Horatio was always early, no matter what. His cell phone beeped. Dispatch. A body had been found. Horatio sincerely hoped it wouldn't be another murder. Miami had experienced enough murders already. And if it would be a murder, then he hoped it wouldn't be as grizzly as the previous case had been.

The picture of a girl who had been raped, stabbed without death and then beaten to death entered his mind, but Horatio tried to push it out of his mind again. There was no use in thinking of previous cases when a new case was always waiting for them. He drove the Hummer to a place he recalled as being the same crime scene as before.

Horatio didn't believe in coincidence, but this almost forced him to, since they had already put the murderer for the crime that had happened at the same place behind bars.

Frank went through is notes when he saw Horatio walking up to the scene.  
"Frank… what have we got here?" he asked.  
"Jennifer Straw, turned 21 yesterday. The girl over there-" Frank pointed in the direction of where a young girl was sitting, two officers standing next to her, "Chrissie Turner, 22, vic's best friend, ID'ed her. Says they were celebrating Jennifer's birthday in Club Gold yesterday."  
"Club Gold… that's the same as in Georgina Cole's murder, isn't it?"  
"You thinking serial?"  
"I'm thinking nothing yet, Frank. Thank you"

Horatio walked over to the body, that was being examined by Alexx.  
"Alexx…" he said. Alexx looked up.  
"Horatio. Jennifer here shows some eerie resemblances to Georgina… I thought you put the murderer in jail"  
"I did" Horatio said. "Cause of death?"  
"I wouldn't know for sure until I get her back to the lab but she has been raped and just stabbed. Similar wounds to those of Georgina." Alexx said to Horatio, before talking to the victim.  
"I guess that's not the way you wanted to celebrate your 21st birthday, isn't it, sweetheart?"  
"Thank you, Alexx. I guess-" Horatio stopped right in the middle of his statement, watching a particular person walking to him. "Excuse me"

He walked to the person.  
"Rick" he said.  
"Horatio. I see you got a murder here?"  
"Very well seen" Horatio said sarcastically.  
"The suspect in the previous case" Stetler only said.  
"Yes. I thought he was locked away"  
Stetler looked at Horatio. "He was an important source"  
"Are you saying he's been released from prison?"  
Stetler slowly nodded. "There was no other way, Horatio"  
"I'll let you… tell that to the parents of the young girl over there." Horatio said, before walking back to Alexx and the victim.

**A/N: **It may take me a while to put up a new chapter… first I want to know whether you like it or not!


	2. Allison

_**Chapter 2: Allison**_

Miami was indeed the city of night clubs, but also of many gangs and therefore crime. But serial killers with their typical serial killer-psyche weren't there a lot; sure, many gang members would kill more than three people in a lifetime which technically would classify them as serial killer, but their psyche was so different of that of the typical serial killer.

The stereotype serial killer killed at least (although most of the times more) people in a short period of time, all with the same motive; which most of the time was lust, sometimes anger and sometimes jealousy. The modus operandi or MO could change if the situation required for it while the signature never changed.

Horatio couldn't official mark the murderer of Georgina and Jennifer as a serial killer, but it sure looked like this killer was not going to stop any time soon, what would make him a serial killer with his next murder.

He didn't have a clue in what the motive could be in this 'one' case, this one case of serial murder, but both victims had been young, hot party girls. The modus operandi in Jennifer's case was somewhat different from Georgina's case, but both had been killed in the same place. Both had been raped and stabbed, but Georgina hadn't died from the stabbings and was beaten to death while Jennifer had died instantly. The killer was definitely perfecting his techniques. The signature seemed to rape these girls at this very place and afterwards kill them by stabbing. Interesting. Serial killers were artists in murder. Show-offs.

Calleigh sat behind the steering wheel of the second Hummer, Ryan was sitting in the passenger seat next to her and Eric was in the back seat. Neither of them exchanged one single word with someone else, afraid for what? Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Murder. It was always wrong, murder, but serial murder was probably even worse. They could deal with any murder (how horrible these could be), mass murders too (also these could be horrifying) but serial killing was of a different category. Serial killers did this for their own pleasure, they were psychopaths.

Ryan slammed the door of the Hummer shut, as did Eric and Calleigh. The three of them walked to the back of the SUV and collected their kits. All of them felt the dense and heavy atmosphere of grief and disappointment. Serial killers weren't good and never could be good, but Calleigh sensed there was something more off.

Horatio walked up to them, deep inside glad they were here. He slipped off his sunglasses to speak to them. They were probably the only people he'd ever take his sunglass off for.  
"Calleigh, I want you on the stab wounds"  
Calleigh nodded and walked over to Alexx.  
"Eric, you search for prints and impressions."  
Eric also nodded and looked around.  
"Mr. Wolfe, I need you to photograph everything and then find the pattern in both the murder of Georgina and this girl, Jennifer. I want to get this killer -" Horatio slipped his sunglasses back on. "Before he becomes an official serial"

In the mean time, a certain IAB sergeant named Rick Stetler had driven his way back to the lab to be just in time for an appointment he had set up.

By the time he entered his office – excuse me, cubicle – the handsome young brunette was already waiting for him.  
"Good morning, Miss Mulder" he said. The brunette nodded.  
"Please, call me Allison, sergeant Stetler."  
Stetler nodded and sat down. From his desk, he grabbed a small pile of files and gave it to Allison.  
"Allison, Miami-Dade PD asks you to analyze the dayshift-team of the Crime Lab. Lieutenant Horatio Caine in particular"  
Allison noticed the hint of bitterness in his voice.  
"Sergeant Stetler, I am not a psychoanalyst for nothing. I noticed that you may not like this lieutenant Caine."  
Stetler looked at Allison. "Allison, that is something not work-related and therefore none of your business. Lieutenant Caine has recently lost a few of his relatives and MDPD wants to know whether he is still fit for the job. The same reason is the reason why I need you to investigate Eric Delko too, for he recently lost his sister, who, coincidentally, was lieutenant Caine's wife. Both of them have a serious amount of influence on the entire team, so I need you to be thorough."  
"I see" Allison answered, before standing up. She hadn't liked Stetler from the beginning of this conversation on, and she knew he was lying. This added to her dislike of him. "I thank you, sergeant Stetler, and from now on, I will not speak to you again until my report is completed or until I have a good reason to speak to you."  
"Why, Allison?"  
Somehow, Allison understood she couldn't be this direct to him to just say 'I don't like you' and so she had to make up a lie. Thank god she was good at lying.  
"Because that would interfere with my investigation" she told him, noticing the slightest bit of disappointment in his eyes. "Hasta luego, sergeant Stetler"  
Suddenly, Stetler grabbed her arm. It felt like he was almost squishing it. "You don't look Cuban or Latina to me, Miss Mulder"  
"That's because I'm neither Cuban nor Latina. My mother is an immigrant from Spain" this couldn't be used against her in any way, which was the only reason she'd tell him. Otherwise she'd never have told him. She released herself from his grip and walked off.

Two paramedics helped Alexx load the victim in the van. Horatio looked away from his three CSIs who were investigating this crime scene.

Now that the body was off to the morgue, Calleigh didn't have anything to do. She noticed how Horatio was staring in the distance, paying no attention whatsoever to the crime scene. Something was off. Slowly she walked up to him.  
"Horatio?" she asked him. He looked at her and slipped off his sunglasses.  
"Hey"  
"What's up? I thought we had put Georgina's murderer behind bars"  
"So did I" he said "But they cut him loose for he was an important source, according to IAB"  
"According to Stetler" Calleigh understood. Horatio nodded slowly, slipping his sunglasses back on. Calleigh indicated this as this short moment of Horatio-emotions was now over.  
Eric walked up to the both of them. "Thread marks. Car."  
Calleigh smiled. "Great"

A minute later, Ryan was finished taking photographs.  
"Here we go" Horatio said.

Calleigh would attend the autopsy of Jennifer while Ryan and Eric would begin investigating the evidence. Horatio provided Calleigh with comparison photos.

Ryan put all of his crime scene photos against a back-lit whiteboard that was mounted against a wall in the lay-out room. Looking at them, he suddenly noticed a similarity in the photos from Jennifer's and Georgina's crime scenes.

Horatio walked to his office, where he, to his surprise, found a young brunette woman waiting for him.  
"Lieutenant Caine?" she asked. Horatio nodded.  
"Allison Mulder, please call me Allison. I am a psycho analyst."  
Horatio slipped off his sunglasses. "Miss Mulder? I don't remember asking for an analyst."  
"Indeed" Allison said. "Internal Affairs sent me"  
"Internal Affairs… Rick Stetler"  
"Indeed. He asked me to investigate the members of your team"  
"I don't see how this is necessary, miss Mulder"  
Allison smiled, hoping to break the ice a little. "I know, lieutenant Caine, but I am just hired to do my job."  
"I understand, Miss Mulder. But there is absolutely no need for you to investigate my team."  
Allison stopped smiling, creating a stricter expression on her face. "Lieutenant Caine, I will have to do what I'm asked to do, and I will try to let it be the least of a nuisance."  
She took off, leaving Horatio just standing there. He picked up the phone and dialed a certain number.

Calleigh and Ryan almost simultaneously found the same conclusion on how both murders had something extra added to the signature.

Both victims wore an ankh, the Egyptian symbol of eternal life, on their ankles. And both ankhs weren't a tattoo – both were drawn on the ankles with a Sharpie.

Eric, however, hadn't made any progress on the tire threads. They had to be in the database, but the database was huge.

Allison was taking a walk around the lab, to have a clue about the work atmosphere. This could always prove to be a reason of many, many subconscious disorders that influenced people's behavior. So far, the only atmosphere she had detected was that of comfort but not the laid-back kind, that of friendship but still a professional distance. Allison couldn't think more of it than that it should be this kind of atmosphere everywhere. Sure, her encounter with lieutenant Caine hadn't run smooth, but she could totally understand his hostile attitude toward psycho analysis of his team. After all, it didn't really add to the positive work atmosphere to have your whole team checked out by an outsider. And considering both the bitterness in sergeant Stetler's voice when he spoke about lieutenant Caine and the spark of, yeah, what kind of emotion was it? Dislike, perhaps, in lieutenant Caine's eyes when he had to mention Stetler's name, they, to say the least, disliked each other. That probably also added to the overall hostile approach of lieutenant Caine to have his team checked out by an outsider who was being sent by a person he disliked. This was going to be tough.

**A/N: **Okay so now I didn't wait for your review but just posted it. But from now on, I really want to know what you all think of it and I'm going to wait until I have five reviews for this chapter.


	3. No Psychopath

**Chapter 3: No Psychopath**

Ryan looked at the photos at the whiteboard. What was the pattern in both murders? What was it that set the killer up to kill these particular girls?

Allison leaned against the doorframe. "Serial. Psychopath. Male, early twenties. Caucasian."  
Ryan looked in her direction, confused.  
"Allison Mulder. I understand you are Ryan Wolfe?"  
Ryan nodded.  
"Please call me Allie, Ryan. I am here to form an opinion about you, for a psycho analytic report about all of you."  
Ryan crossed his arms and looked at Allison. "Miss Mulder, please leave this lab. I'm busy."  
Allison didn't obey his request but instead, she walked over to the whiteboard and took a quick look at the photos. "See? The victims are girls, and they have been raped, which points at a male. Then there's the fact that serial killer tend to murder people who they identify most with. This points at the early twenties and Caucasian. And see this ankh at the ankles? The Egyptian symbol of eternal life. Interesting. I think your suspect is a history student who has some trouble with himself. But he's a psychopath."  
"Except; a psychopath who has trouble with himself isn't a psychopath."  
Allison smiled. "You'd think so, Ryan, but you're wrong. He is a psychopath 'cause he has no conscience. He doesn't feel sorry for his victims. See how he stabbed both of them and beat up that poor girl? He doesn't respect them, doesn't feel sorry for them. But he is still able to feel bad about the person he is when it comes to other things, things of which we may think they're not important but that are of importance to him. He's a complicated psychopath." She walked out, leaving Ryan behind.

Ryan watched Allison leave and looked at the photos again. What she said made sense. Somewhat. But something about her gave him the creeps. As if she knew everything. It seemed pretty coincidental that her description fitted the profile of the murderer of Georgina perfectly. But how coincidental was coincidental? What if she knew more about these murders than she had told him? On the other hand, would she be allowed in the lab to talk to them being a psycho analyst herself if she kept things a secret? And who had hired her?

Horatio walked up to a cubicle. For a moment, he watched the IAB sergeant do his paperwork. Then-  
"Rick…" Horatio said his voice dark and intimidating. Stetler looked up.  
"Horatio" he answered. Horatio smiled in a way that an outsider would interpret as being flirtatious but an insider would interpret as being very threatening.  
"Who is this Allison Mulder you sent?" Horatio asked.  
Stetler was slightly taken aback by the threatening sound of the Lieutenant's voice. But soon, he found the confidence in himself to look Horatio straight in the eyes.  
"She's a psycho analyst. IAB hired her to find out what influence you have on your team. After all, since the death of that Marisol and the shooting of one of your CSIs, you'll need some therapy."  
Horatio smiled again and avoided Stetler's gaze for a moment, before looking back at him. "I will… as soon as I need to."  
Stetler continued looking at him. "You need counseling, Horatio."  
"You have told me that before, _Rick, _and it didn't do much then."  
"You mean Speedle?"  
"What I mean, _Rick_, is that you should have someone looking at _you _first before you hire someone to examine _me_."  
With this, Horatio walked off, leaving a dumbfounded Rick Stetler behind.

Natalia looked at the results from the swab Alexx had taken from the body. Oh yes. She grabbed her cell phone and called Horatio.

Eric was glad to see the database had finally got a hit on the tire threads. He cross-referenced these results with the name of the suspect from the previous case. He slowly dialed a number.  
"H…"

Calleigh looked at the photos of the stabbings of Jennifer and Georgina. She recognized the cut of the blade as being made by a dagger, but what kind or brand, she couldn't exactly make out. Though the shape of the impression of the handle helped her, definitely. She scanned the photos into the computer and ran a comparison database.

A few minutes later, she found a reason to call Horatio.  
"Horatio? It's me, Calleigh. One of the registered owner of the dagger that was used to murder Jennifer and Georgina is a Bruce Taren."  
"The bartender… okay, nice going Calleigh. Let's bring him in."  
Calleigh smiled and ended the conversation. She collected the photos and printed the result. Finally, she walked out of the lab. Just when she'd turned the corner, she bumped into a brown-haired woman, who looked at her.  
"I've been looking for you, Miss Duquesne" the woman said. Calleigh looked surprised.  
"Have you?"  
"Yes. I'm Allison Mulder. Can I have a word with you?"  
Calleigh smiled unsure. "Sure, just not now. I'm on my way to interrogate one Bruce Taren."  
"Are you? Well, in that case I'll walk up with you 'cause I'm heading the same way. He's the murderer of the two girls, isn't he? And then I can also have a talk with your boss about this…"  
Calleigh smiled again, understanding it now. "You're IAB. And new."  
"Not entirely. IAB hired me for this one time."  
"Well, then you better save the effort of talking to Lieutenant Caine, 'cause he won't give in to IAB."  
"I see" Allison noted something on her notepad. "You see, Miss Duquesne, I'm a psycho analyst. I want to see if this Bruce Taren fits my profile."

Horatio shove a pair of photos in the direction of the young, blonde, skinny man across the table. On the table, the sun reflected from outside, the light only broken by Horatio's sunglasses that lay on the table. The man squinted to take a good look on the photos. Horatio rested his hands on his hips and waited.  
"Who are these girls?" the man asked. Horatio smiled (I ask you; flirtatious or threatening?) and collected the photos again.  
"These girls, my friend, are the girls you murdered."  
The man looked at him.  
"I was cut loose after you charged me of killing that Georgina girl."  
"I know" Horatio said "That you've been cut loose because you were said to be an important source. But Bruce, we found that you actually killed a young girl again." Horatio showed him the photo of Jennifer again. "Her name is Jennifer and she had just turned twenty-one that night."  
Bruce looked at the photo. "Yeah. I know her. She used to get to the club every once in a while. She was hot. She liked me the best but she flirted with everyone."  
"So you killed her."  
Bruce seemed to panic. "No! I didn't kill her!"  
Horatio looked at him, the smile had faded and now a cold, hard look was on his face. "Bruce, our weapon specialist matched the wounds to a dagger of which one of the many is registered to you. Now, I personally do not believe in coincidence."  
"That's circumstantial! No, I'm sorry, indirect!"  
Horatio went on without paying attention to Bruce. "Furthermore, you have no alibi for the time of both murders."  
"Have you already checked that?"  
"Your semen has been found in both girls."  
Bruce kept quiet now, knowing it wouldn't make any difference.  
"At last but not least – you fit the profile."  
Bruce's face turned as white as a sheet. "I'm no psychopath!"

Behind a one-way-mirror, Calleigh and Allison watched Horatio interrogate Bruce.  
"You think he did it?" Calleigh asked. Allison shook her head.  
"No. This guy is too insecure to be a psychopath. Though he does indeed fit the profile and all evidence points to him."

Horatio left the interrogation room, walking up to Allison.  
"Miss Mulder?"  
Allison nodded. "What's he saying?"  
"He says that someone is making him do it. Leaving a sign that he loved most and raping and stabbing her. He tells us, that whoever set him up to it, made him so angry at the first murder. For the second one he was more careful, 'cause this person had told him to be careful otherwise he would get caught."  
Allison looked at Horatio. "Whoever set him up to it, it's either someone close to him or someone who soon gains trust. Status will gain trust, for example. Someone with excellent people skills, I think it will be hard to trick people into killing a person once, let alone twice."

_A dark figure walked up to Bruce.  
"Brucie, do you really think they will not lock you up? Of course they will. They will figure it out that you lied."  
"I didn't lie! You did set me up to this!"  
"I didn't do it, Bruce. You did it. How can you live with yourself?"  
"I-"  
"Do you believe in capital punishment? 'Cause I do and you deserve it."  
The dark figure saw how Bruce was fighting, thinking, judging what he should do inside. He was weak, so weak… one push would get him over the edge now. But this was getting boring. Setting Bruce up to murder someone was boring. Would setting a person up to suicide be more fun? And a more interesting question; would someone who killed two people and then himself be a serial killer or just accused of murder one? The figure wanted to know all of this.  
"Bruce? Shame on you for killing those girls. They didn't deserve it. Think about their parents, their families, their friends. Their grief." The figure showed him a few articles that were cut from the paper. "Look at this, Bruce, and look at the harm you've done."  
The figure could almost see him break down inside. This was not boring. This was actually fun. Grinning, the person left the apartment._

It was almost midnight and shift had been over for hours. Horatio was alone in his office, when he received a call. Dispatch, again, just like last morning. He and Alexx, the only two day shift employees left in the lab

It was a massacre. The body of Bruce Taren was lying in a pool of blood, his wrists cut. Alexx immediately recognized it as being suicide. On a side table, Horatio found a note.

_Tell Alice I can't take it no more. I'm sorry Alice, that I wasn't stronger._

**A/N: **Please let me know what you think of it and whether you'd like to know the last chapter… I'll go for the five reviews before I post the next chapter!


	4. Alice and Allison

**Chapter 4: Alice and Allison**

Alexx looked at the body that lay in front of her.  
"Bruce Taren, 24" she told Eric. "He was a bartender." She looked at the body. "And much too young to die"  
"Alexx, he's killed two girls"  
Alexx remained silent and undressed Bruce. Meanwhile, Eric took a sample of the epithelial that he found under Bruce's fingernails. He bagged it and looked at Alexx.  
"COD?"  
Alexx looked at him. "Suicide. Cut wrists."

Delko took the sample to Natalia, who seemed to be already waiting for him to show up.  
"Hey"  
"Hey"  
Delko handed her the bag and watched her prepare the sample.  
"So, have you already been questioned by that Allison Mulder?" Natalia asked. Delko shook his head.  
"Not yet. You?"  
"Yeah. I don't like her, she gives me the creeps"

Horatio walked over to Calleigh.  
"Calleigh, have you found anything yet?"  
Calleigh span the chair around and looked at him. "As a matter of fact, yes."  
She showed him the results.   
"Interesting." Horatio said. "Let's bring Allison in. No – better yet, let Ryan bring her in." He grabbed his cell phone. "Thank you, Calleigh" he said, before walking out of the lab.

Ryan drove the lab's Hummer North on Collins Avenue, took a turn to the right and stopped in front of a building that looked very expensive. Apparently, working as a psychoanalyst gained you a very decent living. Or, probably a better explanation, depending on what his sources had told him, Allison had had quite a decent inherent from her parents and godmother. He exited the Hummer and walked to the building. From here, you could see the sapphire blue sea and it was very close to Miami's clubbing scene. Though Ryan doubted Allison had bought the apartment for that. He had a hard time seeing Allison as a girl busy clubbing day and night, twenty-four seven. He rang the doorbell of the apartment, of which the door was opened for about four inches instantly.  
"Allie? It's me, Ryan. We've got a new case on our hands and we wondered if you could help us out." So far for his non-existent people skills.  
"Hey" she sounded upset. "Come in" she opened the door just enough to let him through and then closed the door behind his back. Ryan felt trapped, the minute he heard the clicking sound of the lock. He turned around to see her. She wore a simple summer dress, her hair hung loosely on her back and except for the look in her eyes, she seemed perfectly fine.  
"What's wrong?" Ryan asked. Allison smiled weakly.   
"I heard on the news that Bruce's been found dead. He used to be one of my closest friends." She sniffed. Ryan was scared she might start crying. Maybe he had developed his people skills a little – he still didn't have the ability to calm crying women down the way Horatio could. The way he tried to copy very hard.  
"He did murder Jennifer and Georgina" he said, hoping this would calm her down the smallest bit, although he didn't expect it to. The minute he said it, he realized this would probably just upset her more. To his surprise, it didn't.  
"I know" Allie looked at him. "I knew it was him the second I took a look at your evidence. But why are you here, and not the man you're trying so hard to copy? You're boss, Lieutenant Caine?"  
Ryan tried his best not to show her how right she was and looked her in the eyes. These seemed empty, not a single emotion. As if she hid her feelings. Was she the psychopath? Could hardly be, he believed.  
"Will you please come with me to the lab so you can identify Bruce's killer?"  
Allison nodded. "I'd be happy to do so"  
Ryan opened the door for Allie and she smiled at him.  
"Thanks" she whispered. Ryan nodded to tell her silently 'you're welcome'.

Horatio was waiting for Ryan and Allison near the elevator.  
"Miss Mulder" he said when she stepped out of the elevator.  
"Lieutenant Caine" she said. "I understand you now do want my help?"  
Horatio smiled, and Allison detected the slightest bit of sorry, but most of it was his effort to try hiding the things he didn't want anyone to know, things that may make him vulnerable. He probably had a very violent past.  
"Yes…" he replied. "Miss Mulder, please follow me" he guided Allison and Ryan to the lay-out room, where again the back-lit whiteboard was filled with photos and files, this time all about Bruce's murder.  
"Miss Mulder, what do you think about this murder?" Horatio asked.  
Allison walked over to the whiteboard and examined every photo and file.  
"It's the same psychopath who lured Bruce into killing the girls. This time, the psychopath lured him into killing himself. He-" she swallowed. "Oh my god. He slit his wrists to torture himself in the time it took to die. The psychopath made him feel guilty."  
"Do you have a profile?" Calleigh, who'd already been in the room, asked.   
"Yes. It's a close acquaintance or friend of Bruce. Mid-twenties. Caucasian. Psychopath, of course. Well-raised. Good education. Probably went to university. And it's a she." Allison said. Delko walked in and just picked up Allison's last words.   
"How do you see?"  
"He-" Allison swallowed again. "It probably was a loved one of Bruce. And I know Bruce wasn't a homosexual, so a lover must have been female."  
"How do you see it's been a loved one?"  
Allison pointed at the carefully picked clothes. "He only dressed this well when he was expecting someone he loved and adored very much. For his work, he wore Club Gold's uniform and for the rest of the time, he didn't really care."  
Horatio nodded. "Miss Mulder, you understand the profile you just described points at you?"  
Allison nodded. "I am aware of that. But – I haven't killed him!"  
Now, Ryan stepped forward. "She isn't lying, Horatio. Back in her apartment, she almost broke down when we talked about Bruce. A psychopath doesn't cry over people he – or she – has killed."  
Horatio nodded. "It wasn't Allison" he showed her a plastic bag which contained the suicide note from Bruce's crime scene.  
"At first, Miss Mulder, we thought he was pointing at you by saying 'Alice', because of the similar name. We searched for it, and found out that it seems he used to live with one Alice Mulder. Again, a lot of similarities. Furthermore, we found skin cells under Bruce's fingernails and these turned out to match your DNA. But-" he smiled at Allison in a calm, almost comforting way. "Miss Boa Vista found out you have a twin sister that goes by the name of Alice Mulder."  
Allison looked at Horatio with tears in her eyes. "Please, lieutenant, Alice is horrible. She's really awful. The sooner you get her off the streets, the better. She's a really psychopath. She is the reason I became a psycho-analyst." She now really cried. Ryan clumsily patted her on the back.  
"Why didn't you tell us before?"  
She looked in his eyes, her face covered in tears. Ryan fell the slightest bit of a spark.  
"Because she is still my sister"  
"Family" Horatio said, quietly. "Even if they're awful, you can never stop defending them."  
Allison nodded. "Please, help her" she mumbled.

Horatio in one of the lab's Hummers, Tripp in his car and a few squad cars raced through half of Miami to Alice's residence. It was a small, terraced house that showed none of the glamour of Allison's apartment. A few more miles and you would be in between alligators and mosquitoes in the glades. Horatio drew his gun and banged on the door, that opened all by itself. He carefully walked in and let his eyes adjust to the darkness before shouting; "Miami-Dade Police!" He, Tripp and a few officers quickly searched the house.   
"Clear!"  
"Clear!"  
"Clear!"  
"Clear!"  
In one last room that probably once was meant to become a walk-in closet, they found Alice. She looked a bit like Allison, only she hadn't taken care of herself for probably years. The woman was looking at articles about the murders that she had pasted in a scrapbook.  
"Alice Mulder?" Tripp asked. Alice looked up. "You're under arrest…"

Horatio made a mental note. When he'd be back at the lab he really had to talk to someone in particular…

Allison looked at Ryan, who sat next to her.  
"Ryan? I'm sorry you had to put up with me and all this crap."  
Ryan looked back at her. "Actually, I liked being with you." A voice in his head said he should ask her out for dinner, but in his heart, he didn't dare to. He sighed and then looked at her. Should he ask it?

Horatio walked up to Stetler.  
"Rick?"  
"Horatio. I understand you finally got along with Allison Mulder."  
"Yes… maybe next time it will be better if you first check people's back ground before hiring them and giving them my lab as their personal playground."  
"I understand she also seems to get along very well with Ryan Wolfe"  
"Perhaps, but that's none of your business."  
"It is my business. You see, against all my expectations she didn't think you have too much influence on your team and the influence you do have is only positive. I don't understand."  
Horatio suppressed the urge to say 'that's because you're stupid' and instead only smiled at Stetler before going on. "Well, _Rick_, if you let me do my things then I'll let you do yours. Don't interfere with the lab work."  
"But it's my job to be curious about the employees of the lab."  
"That – is not a job" Horatio looked at him, dangerously calm. "That – is just a nuisance."

Horatio walked out of the lab building and watched Ryan help Allison into her car. She smiled at Ryan and when both noticed Horatio, they smiled at him. Horatio smiled back at them and then, he looked at the clouds that floated by high in the sky. Hurricane season was coming soon. Horatio slipped on his sunglasses and he looked at the building of the lab that meant so much to him. No – he looked at the building of which the employees meant so much to him. His crime lab.

The End.


End file.
